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Is this company or person, _______, a scam?
How to evaluate potential scams
How do you know if an email, letter or phone call you receive is
real or a scam? We are asked that question every day. Often, there
is no single determining factors. It is often a combination of
inconsistencies that don't add up. Remember, a scammer is trying to create
a believable, plausible lie - he is deliberately trying to weave a story that is
difficult to disprove.
In some cases, there is really no way to know at all. If
you advertise something for sale, say a car and a person answers the ad and says
he wants to buy it, he could be real or a scammer. As you progress in the sale,
you must simply keep asking yourself; is this what I would do? Is this
what a legitimate buyer would do? Are his requests reasonable? Have
I taken the right precautions, in case he should turn out to be lying?
There is
no one indicator that is proof positive of a scam, but if a correspondence
(letter, email or phone call) exhibits enough of them, we would suggest that a
scam is likely.
Here are some of the things we look for.
To check out contact from an individuals / personal contacts:
-
Location - Where are they? Some places are famous for
being home to scams and scammers, most notably, Nigeria, Russia, Romania,
Africa, and anywhere in the Third World, in general. For example, would
would someone in Nigeria want to buy a car from the United States or
Britain? If the person is located in a different country, assume first that
it is a scam and keep your guard up!
-
Inconsistent information - It's hard to maintain a
lie. Look for information that doesn't match. If he says he grew
up in Virginia, then he'd know about Busch Gardens and Williamsburg,
wouldn't he. If he claims to be American but writes in a way that
makes little sense, or has a foreign accent, then English is not his first
language.
-
Inaccurate information - Look for inaccuracies that
indicate a lie. If he's gives you email addresses that bounce, phone numbers
that are disconnected, that's assign. If he gives you an address; look
at it in Google earth. Maybe it is just a parking lot. Do a Google
search on his phone number and the word "scam".
-
Have they asked you to send them money via Western Union
or "wire transfer"? Unless
it is a family member or a friend since childhood, this will always be a
scammer!
To check out contact from someone claiming to be representing a
business:
-
Location - Where are they? Some places are famous for
being home to scams and scammers, most notably, Nigeria, Russia, Romania,
Africa, and anywhere in the Third World, in general. For example, would
would someone in Nigeria want to buy a car from the United States or
Britain? If the person is located in a different country, assume first that
it is a scam and keep your guard up!
-
Can you reach them? Call the contact phone number.
Can you reach them during normal business hours in their time zone? Did you
get a person or a recording? If you went into voicemail, were you able
to reach a live person? If their only means of contact is an email address
or a cell phone, think "scam!"
-
No company email address - A real business will have
it's own domain and website - you can make a website for less than $100 per
year! Any business worth dealing with will have email address that has their
business name after the @, then followed by .com (or .net, .co.uk, .org, .gov,
etc.). If their address ends with
@yahoo.com,
@hotmail.com,
@gmail.com,
@live.com,
@mail.com,
@aol.com,
or other free email accounts, it is VERY likely to be a scam. And for
those of you operating legitimate business without a webpage and domain name
- it's 2008 - spend the $100/year and GET IN THIS CENTURY.. or be considered
to be a buggy whip manufacturer, at best.
-
Have they asked you to pay them money via Western Union
or "wire transfer"? This will
always be a scam! we know of NO legitimate business that accepts payments
via Western Union. Any legitimate business anywhere in the civilized
world can accept a check, and usually a credit card.
-
If they have a website,
-
Does it have a private listing in Whois, or the
listing names are associated with other scams. A private listing is fine for
a personal website, a blog, or an information-only website (like CFR), but
if your business is selling something, the Whois entry should identify the
company that owns the domain.
-
Do the links on the website work? A few broken links
here and there are normal, but if the majority are broken, that may indicate
a website that was slapped together quickly.
-
Unrelated photos or content. Do the pictures,
links and content on the pages match the theme and purpose of the page and
website?
-
Vague or inaccurate information - Reputable marketers
have access to the product details and know you will want them.
Scammers just cut and paste why they can quickly find.
-
Cloned content - Are the photos and text copied from
other websites??
-
Misdirection - if you type in a web address, but it
redirects to a different web address, that can be a sign of a scam.
-
Misrepresentation - Do the terms and conditions or
product and services match the advertising and content on their pages?
-
Hidden or hard to find terms and conditions - If the
terms are generic and not likely to impact the use of the product or costs,
it may be a not issue. But if their terms include buried requirements
that cost you money or make the product or service less useful, that's a
scam!
-
Few links in Google - If you search in Google, Yahoo
and other major search engines but find few or now results to their business
name or website, they are either new, unpopular or a scam.
-
No listing in related aggregate websites, like the
Better Business Bureau, or related website reviews (like Shopzilla,
Shopping.com, Bizrate). The bigger and more reputable firms will show
up elsewhere in listings for their industry.
Example of Incomplete Information to Determine a Scam
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2008 6:22 AM
To: cfr2008@consumerfraudreporting.org
Subject: Feedback from CFR:N/A
Hi,
I'd like to confirm if this is real or is it a
scam..
I have received this offer, but it sounds kinda true
to me.
I have spoke on the HR Manager by calling on the
number provided here.
He did inform me that I will have to pay for my Visa
and other formalities and that I will not be reimbursed with same. In regard
to this I would get 75% of my salary in advance.
The reason I feel this offer is true to an extent is
because if you go through the letters you will find the seal of Sinochem
International and the rest.
Could you get back to me confirming the whether the
same is worth thinking of.
Please do the same on an urgent basis.
Thanking you in anticipation,
DR MAXWELL KINGS
OPERATION/HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER
Xprex Shipping Company Limited.
International House. Unit 5B Worthy Road.
Chittening Industrial Estate.
Avonmouth. Bristol. UK. BS11 0YB
Tel: Bristol UK +44 (0) 704 579 2373
Fax: Bristol UK + 44 (0)117 676 4344
E-mail:info@xprexshipping-uk.net
E-mail:maxwell_xprex_shipping@yahoo.com
www.xprexshipping-uk.net
Sample Analysis
A seal on documents or emails does not convey
legitimacy. With the power of inexpensive computers and color printers, a
12 year child could make a very real looking fake seal these days. Few western
companies use seals, anyway. Perhaps, they do in the Third World, but not
in America (except for obscure court filings, and then it is just a formality).
The biggest tip to a scam is advance pay. Why on earth
would anyone or any company offer you 75% of your pay in advance?
Despite this, you really haven't provided any meaningful
information to determine whether it is a scam. The name and address of the
company could be real. For example , how about I sign this email:
George Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone Numbers
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD
Comments: 202-456-6213
Visitors Office: 202-456-2121
Website
www.whitehouse.gov
Every but of that is real and true. But that doesn’t
mean that I’m George Bush, now, does it?
If you can forward the email or other correspondence
that you received, we can probably quickly point out signs that it is a scam.
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